Africa Media Review Vol. 1. No. 2. 1987 
© African Council on Communication Education 
Traditional Systems of 
Communication in Modern African 
Development An Analytical 
by Des Wilson* 
Abstract 
Resume 
Viewpoint 
This paper makes a case for the utilization of traditional systems of 
communication in the development process. The paper 
underscores the usefulness of traditional systems of 
communication by noting that they are instrumental in the 
mobilization of people at the grassroot level for community 
development and national consciousness; the enlightenment of 
people in cultural, political, health, and other programmes leading 
toward self-actualization; public entertainment through arts, 
cultural festivals, musicals and dramatic performances; and intracultural, 
intercultural and other communication purposes leading 
to group and national cohesiveness. Contending that the 
traditional newsman is the only credible source of information for 
the rural areas, the author urges that his (the traditional 
newsman's) mobility and hardware be improved to facilitate his 
work. 
L'article ci-apres est une defense de l'utilisation des systemes de 
communication traditionnels dans le processus de deVeloppement 
n de'montre l'utilite' de ces systefmes en faisant remarquer qu'ils 
servent la mobilisation des populations au niveau des 
communaute's de base pour le developpement communautaire et la 
conscience nationale; leur ouverture a des programmes culturels, 
politiques, sanitaires et autres devant conduire a d'autres fins 
intra-culturelles et interculturelles visant a la concision nationale 
et de groupe. L'auteur affirme que la journaliste traditionnel est la 
seule source d'informations credible dans les zones rurales et lance 
un appel afin que soient ameliores sa mobilite'et ses moyens pour 
faciliter son travail. 
*Mr. Des Wilson is a Lecturer at the Department of Communication Arts, 
University of Cross River State, Uyo. Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria 
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Introduction 
There is often a certain degree of semantic and conceptual 
confusion and misapprehension surrounding what constitutes 
traditional communication, arising from the use of'traditional' as 
a qualifier in discussing communication systems generally. The 
general notion or implication, also arising from this confusion and 
misapprehension, is often that of outdated or perhaps primitive 
systems of communication which still have surviving relies in most 
Third World countries. This same view often envisages traditional 
systems as being mutually antagonistic to what is generally known 
as modern systems of communication. But the truth is that 
although the systems may be old and different, in their principles, 
from the new systems introduced from abroad, they remain what 
essentially sustain the information needs of the rural which 
represent over 70% of the national populations of most Third World 
states. 
The underlying fallacies behind such thinking are based on 
certain assumptions regarding what is traditional and what is 
modern. The basic assumption here as Gusfield (1973:333) has 
pointed out is that of seeing 'existing institutions' and values, the 
content of traditional 'as impediments to changes' and obstacles to 
modernization'. Other related and rather fanciful theories include 
the view that old traditions are usually displaced by new changes, 
and that traditional and modern forms of a culture are always in 
conflict Although scholars on both sides of the opinion divide 
often sound as if tradition and modernity were mutually exclusive 
in content, there is very little to bear them out as practical support 
for such extreme views. It is important to note that in social 
contexts, conflicts often arise not necessarily because one form is 
old and the other new, but because human beings usually resist 
change of any sort. 
The truth is that there will always be social conflicts irrespective 
of the chronological age of the concepts involved. It is therefore the 
view of this paper that what constitutes traditional 
communication is not necessarily a matter of 'age', civilization or 
'technology', conflicting with change, but rather a system which 
can be viewed within a communication continuum of the type 
suggested by Ray Browne and reported by Michael Rael 
(1977). Browne refers to this continuum as the Cultural Lens' 
where culture is viewed from a focal perspective which delineates 
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four spectrums: folk, elite, popular and mass. Browne's 
categorization is faulty and restrictive from the point of view of a 
sense of distance created by the 'lens'. It is perhaps more rewarding 
to view this traditional/modern communication dichotomy from 
the point of view of a series of concentric circles with the folk (or 
traditional) communication occupying the innermost circle and 
mass communication the outermost circle. With this the limiting 
sense of distance is replaced by a sense of convergence and sharing 
of characteristics which is the point of view shared by this paper. 
Thus it is useful to see the- system as traditional from the 
standpoint of an on-going, long-standing and 'modernized' 
(modified) practice. There is also a need to see traditional media 
systems as those which have defied all efforts by western media to 
cannibalize them and perhaps supplant them. 
These traditional systems are also trusted and the majority of the 
people seem to believe in what comes out of them and usually use 
them and supplement them with whatever additional information 
may filter through opinion leaders about events elsewhere. 
The word system is used here to refer to an assemblage or 
combination of media and channels to form a complex whole: a 
coordinated body of methods of communication used within a 
society. Here the constituent parts have certain attributes which 
relate them to one another. 
Thus the traditional system of communication is a continuous 
process of information dissemination, entertainment and 
education used in societies which have not been seriously 
dislocated by western culture or any other external influence as is 
the case in many parts of the world. The system even operates in 
urban centres which have accepted to manipulate western media 
system for the purpose of enhancing the socio-economic 
development of these areas. Thus some methods of 
communication which hitherto belonged to the traditional system 
no longer operate because social and economic activities have
made it possible to create the contexts of them. For example, 
communication with fire as a means of attracting attention or 
notifying a neighbouring community of an event does not seem to 
have a place today in any of our societies except perhaps among the 
mountain tribes and among hunters and adventurers in some 
places. 
Finally, the traditional system of communication also refers 
to the mode of control (ownership) and model. It is important to 
note here that under the traditional system, ownership of the 
means (media/channels) of communication lies with the society. 
The village/clan head only acts as a trustee and head of the 
gatekeeping process. 
TAXONOMY OF TRADITIONAL MEDIA SYSTEMS 
Studies and research into traditional media systems are 
relatively recent. Earlier mention of these systems were limited in 
scope and superficial. The most important early study of 
traditional communication systems was L.W. Pyes (1963) Models 
of Traditional, Transitional and Modern Communication System'. 
Subsequent references to this all-important but neglected aspect 
of communication were also by Euro-American scholars like 
Hachten (1971). Ainslie (1966), Head (1974, Wilcox (1975), and 
Doob (1966), who though not deeply interested in the subject 
except for its anthropological value, nevertheless acknowledged the 
existence and use of traditional systems in most of the Third World. 
Nonetheless, serious academic efforts, though noticeable in 
undergraduate project reports in some Nigerian Universities, did 
not come into the fore until the early seventies when Ugboajah 
(1972) began to call attention to this neglected but powerful 
communication systems that the western media barons have 
refused to recognize. It was not until 1981 when Wilson working in 
the Cross River area of Nigeria approached this virgin land through 
a systematic study, classification, analysis and understanding of 
the various media processes and content within the traditional 
context. The Theatre Workshop experimentation recommended by 
experts in Botswana in 1979 and recent studies by Nwunell (1981) 
have also contributed to our knowledge of the traditional media 
system. It is becoming clearer to scholars on both sides of the socioeconomic 
divide (The First and Third Worlds) that a clear 
understanding of the structures, patterns, processes and uses of 
such media could enhance the multiple application of such 
channels for human and national growth. 
The town crier, a popular misnomer for the traditional 
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emissary newsman, is perhaps the most ubiquitous and electric in 
terms of Tils role In the traditional society and so-called modem 
society which will become to-morrow's 'primitive' or 'traditional' 
society. The persons who function under this umbrella term 
perform various other mutually dependent and self-defining roles. 
They are news reporters, correspondents, news agents, messengers 
(emissaries), spokesmen (or women), envoys (ambassadors), 
contactmen, couriers, postmen, broadcasters, heralds and also 
perform other related roles. 
There are numerous traditional forms of communication in 
Nigeria's old Calabar province. These are the various forms which 
the fabled town crier employs in his different communication roles. 
They can be broadly divided into eleven classes,namely: 
(i) Idiophones 
(ii) Membranophones 
(iii) Aerophone 
(iv) Symbolography 
(v) Signals 
(vi) Signs 
(vii) Objectifies 
(viii) Colour Schemes 
(ix) Music 
(x) Extra-mundane communication 
(xi) Symbolic displays 
(i) Idiophones: These are self-sounding instruments or technical 
wares which produce sound without the addition or use of an 
intermediary medium. The sound or message emanates from the 
materials from which the instruments are made and they could be 
shaken, scratched, struck, pricked (pulled) or pressed with the feet. 
In this group we have the gong, woodlock, wooden drum, bell and 
rattle, (see page 102) 
(ii) Membranophones: These are media on which sound is 
produced through the vibration of membranes. They include all 
varieties of skin or leather drum. These drums are beaten or struck 
with well-carved sticks. Among the various Nigerian groups, skin 
drums of various sizes and shapes abound. Perhaps the most 
popular, because it is the most exposed and intricate in its 
craftsmanship, is the Yoruba talking drum, locally called 'dundun' 
(see page 103). 
(iii) Aerophones: These are media which produce sound as a result 
of the vibration of a column of air. They comprise media of the flute 
family, whistle reed pipes, horns and trumpets, (see Apendix B:l, B 
4). 
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(iv) Symbolography: This simply means symbolic writing or representation. 
Communication takes place when an encorder uses 
graphic representations to convey a message which is understood 
within the context of a known social event and an accompanying 
verbal message. It is a descriptive representational device for 
conveying meaning. There are three main kinds of symbolography 
used among the Cross River people (the Efik-Ibibio-Igbo) namely: 
(b) 
(a) the fresh unfolding frond of the palm tree usually with a 
greenish yellow colour. It is tied and shaped in different ways 
to convey different meanings. (Apendix B:3) 
a decorated stick make from the outer part of the dry branch 
of the raffia palm tree. It is called Nsadang among the people of 
old Calabar (Apendix B:2) 
the third is a kind of cryptic writing used among the Cross 
River people and in the border areas of Western Cameroun. 
The following 'uli' (Igbo) writings are examples which are used in 
=quarrel =s love =: woman =; man 
(0 
wall painting as well as on cloth: 
(v) Signals: These are the physical embodiments of a message. 
Many ancient signals are still being used for modern 
communication today. 
For example, in Nigeria, there is hardly a broadcasting station 
which does not utilize drum signals to draw the attention of its 
listeners to the fact that they are about to begin transmission for 
the day, deliver their main news broadcast or announce time, close 
down or prepare for the broadcast of the local or national leader. 
Some of the signals include fire, gunshots, canon shots, drum 
(wooden or skin). 
(vi) Signs: Marks which are meaningful, or objects or symbols used 
to represent something are signs. It is a construct by which 
organisms affect the behaviour or state of another in a 
communication context. Sign language (i.e. a system of human 
communication by gestures) has been developed for the deaf. While 
signs are more likely to be symbolic in certain contexts, symbols are 
not signs. Signs are associated with specific denotative meanings 
while symbols usually carry along with them connotative 
meanings as well. Ross (1962:164-165) says symbols... require an 
interpreter who knows something of the system by virtue of which 
the symbol has meaning. Natural signs require an interpreter who 
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knows a theory, or general law, in terms of which the sign is an 
index of the existence of something else. 
(vii) Objectifies: Media presented in concrete forms which may 
have significance for a specific society only or may be universal 
through their traditional association with specific contextual 
meanings. These include: kola nut, the young unopened bud of the 
palm frond, charcoal, White Pigeon or fowl, white egg, feather, 
cowries, mimosa, flowers,sculptures, pictures,drawing, the flag etc. 
(viii) Colour schemes: This is the general conception and use of 
combination of colours in a design to convey some meanings. 
Colour uses the advantages of pictorial communication by 
combining the speed of its impact and freedom from linguistic 
boundaries to achieve instant and effective communication. 
Among the prominent colours used to communicate different 
meanings among the Cross River people are: red, white black, 
green, yellow, brown and turquoise. Combinations of these colours 
produce certain signilicant meanings for the society. Since colours 
play an important role in modern advertising, greater attention will 
continue to be given to them in the fields of science, industries, 
advertising, public relations and social communication. 
(ix) Music: Itinerant musical entertainment groups sing satirical 
songs, praise songs, and generally criticise wrong doings of 
individuals in society. Names of those being satirized or praised 
may be mentioned or descriptions of their physical or personaliity 
attributes, where they live, or what they do may form part of such 
songs. Grapevine stories concerning events that are being planned 
for the society may be featured as a way of alerting the generality of 
the people. Such groups as itembe, kokoma, ekpo, ekong and age 
grade choral groups perform these functions. They are potent 
sources of information and the latest gossip. This is as Jacobson 
(1969:334) points out 'an unconsummated symbol which evokes 
connotation and various articulation, yet is not really defined'. 
(x) Extra-mundane communication: This is the mode of 
communication between the living and the dead, the supernatural 
or supreme being. This is usually done through incantation, 
spiritual chants, ritual, prayers, sacrifice, invocation, seance, 
trance, hysterics or liberation. This is a multi-dimensional 
communication transaction which has become more pervasive in 
all societies most especially in Africa. Cultural ritual performance 
evokes intensity of emotion which may lead to a temporary 
spiritual transmigration of the participants as in religious or 
spiritual ceremonies. Such a performance conveys the elements of 
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a cultural celebration, dedication and consecration as is often 
witnessed in marriage and funeral rites. Modem forms of extramundane 
communication are found in obituary and in memorial 
notices published in newspapers, magazines or on radio and 
television. 
(xi) Symbolic displays: These would be cultural-specific or may 
have universal significance and some of their characteristics are 
shared even with primates e.g. smiling, sticking out the tongue, 
expression of anger, disgust, happiness, and fear, the way we walk, 
or sit, gestures we use, voice qualities and other facial expressions. 
In addition many traditional institutions, clubs or societies are 
also used for the purpose of disseminating information, passing on 
gossips, rumours and at times highly confidential information. 
These institutions operate in both urban and rural areas. But most 
prominently some of them are found in urban and rural areas 
especially the following: cooperative societies, esusu (Osusu), 
clan/town/village/family unions, ethnic unions, voluntary 
organisations, drinking clubs, old students associations, market 
women's associations, traders associations, religious groups, men 
only, and women only clubs, secret societies, cults, sports clubs, 
recreational clubs, age traders, choral groups, self-help group, 
occupational groups and many others which may fall within any 
one or more of the groups listed and whose objectives may not be 
for communication purposes but whose activities are directly 
linked with communication. 
Perhaps it is important to note here that such international 
organisations as the Rosicrucian (Amorc) order, Rotary, Lions, 
Inner-Wheel, Lodges, Religious denominations, Pyrates or the 
National Association of Seadogs, and the Palm Wine Drinkers 
Clubs scattered all over educational institutions throughout 
Nigeria are such powerful social, religious and political 
organisations that some of them even run newspapers, magazines, 
or newsletters which circulate widely among members and nonmembers. 
This in addition to the communication transaction that 
takes place when the members of the organisations meet. Some of 
them have other means by which members communicate among 
themselves either for good or for bad. It is however possible for one 
man to be a member of almost all the clubs around him, some of 
whose activities he may not necessarily participate in. The most 
important aspect of these organisations is that they are engaged in 
a lot of communication activities. It is however clear from the 
examples given that opinion leadership plays a vital role in the 
communication transaction that takes place within each 
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organisation. In some cases members get advanced information on 
policy matters before the Government officially makes its stand 
known. 
The merits and demerits of these societies can only be seriously 
considered within the impersonal context of national security and 
development and perhaps then can the personal interests of 
groups be seen to make sense if their activities in no way threaten 
the existence of the larger society. 
FORMAL AND INFORMAL CHANNELS OF COMMUNICATION 
In the rural-urban setting there is at times very little difference 
between formal and informal channels of communication. 
Nevertheless, some channels are more formally structured than 
others. While some remain to foster the goals and objectives that 
dictated their being set up, others disappear almost as soon as they 
appear either after fulfilling the initial aims of their originators, 
or incompatibility of ideologies, or certain drastic political and 
economic changes taking place in the society, cut their lives short 
For example, in the wake of the assassination of General Murtala 
Muhammed in 1976, the Nigerian Mourners Association emerged 
under the leadership of an Ibadan-based printer-publisher. Soon 
after funds were collected and expended not much was heard from 
the mourners. Also before party politics returned to Nigeria in 1978 
there were several Committees of Friends all over the country. Such 
organisations are usually informal but occasionally formality may 
set in if coordinators want to introduce other elements which are 
hinged on formality. For example, the committees of friends 
became political parties which are more formal groupings. 
Generally the following channels which are not mutually 
exclusive can be grouped into nine categories. 
A) Economic Interest Groups: 
Esusu (osusu). Cooperative Societies, Market Women 
Associations, Traders Associations, Self-help Groups, 
Development Unions, Chambers of Commerce, Market 
Places, Trade fairs. 
B) Political Interest Groups: 
Village/Clan/Town Unions, Ethnic Unions, Political Parties, 
Alumni Associations, Akwaesop Imaisong Ibibio Council for 
the Defence of the 1979 Constitution, Nigerial Mourners 
Assocication, Women In Nigeria (WIN), Village Squares, etc. 
C) Voluntary Organisations: 
Rotary Club, Lions Club, Innerwheel Club, Lioness, Akwaesop 
Imaisong Ibibio, Peoples Club of Nigeria, Zonta International 
Mka Nkaiso. ets. 
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D) Educational Institutions: 
Museums, Schools, Libraries, Bookshops, Department of 
Information. Debates and Quizes, Cultural Centres, Picture 
Galleries, Phonograph records, etc 
E) Social Clubs: 
Drinking Clubs such as the Palmwine Drinkers Club, and the 
Pyrates (or The National Association of Seadogs), Island Club, 
Fan Clubs, Peoples Club of Nigeria, Television Viewers 
Association. Village Squares etc. 
Religious groups, churches, mosques. Muslim Students 
Society. Christian Unions, (Nigerian) Federation of Catholic 
Students, Idiong. AMORC (Rosicrucian Order), Ogboni, 
Owegbe Cult, Witchcraft Society, Lodges, Bethels, Temples, Ifa, 
Men only clubs women only clubs, age grades, occupational 
groups (e.g. Nigerian Union of Journalists), Lioness Club, 
Inner-Wheel Club, Rotary Club, Alumni Association, National 
Council of Women Societies, Nigerian Army Officers Wives 
F) Spiritual Groups: 
Pilgrimage, Shrines, etc. 
G) Social Class Groups: 
Association, Cross River Ladies Association, etc. 
H. Recreational Clubs: 
Sports Clubs, Yoruba Tennis Club, Reggae Club, 
Discotheques, African Club, Railway Recreational Club, 
Sports Festivals, Stadia, Television Viewers Association etc. 
I) Cultural Groups: 
Masquerados Groups, Choral Groups, Ekpe Society, Ekpo 
Society, Akwaesop Imaisong Ibibio, Oro Festival, Marriage 
Ceremonies, Festivals, Dramatic Performances, Museums, 
Travelling Theatres, Village Square, etc. 
To these can be added incidental forms of communication which 
arise from the context of each communication. For example the 
kind of communication that takes place at a live musical-dance 
performance in the traditional society is quite different from what 
any form of western communication system can bring about It can 
have both a cathartic effect as well as a spiritual one. So also is the 
somewhat mystical extra-mundane communication (between the 
living and the 'dead') which takes place at moments when elders 
pour liberation or when faithfuls kneel to pray. 
NATURE AND CONTENT OF TRADITIONAL COMMUNICATION 
Communication processes in rural areas of Nigeria are in 
various forms and are geared toward achieving different 
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communication goals and objectives. Thus they can be any of the 
following: directives, news, advertising, public relations, 
entertainment, education. 
(i) Directives are given in the form of 
(a) announcements concerning public or commumity 
works, duties or responsibilities of the collective 
citizenry which must be carried out or defaulters within 
the community automatically face certain sanctions. 
(b) instructions to groups or individuals to carry out certain 
decisions of the traditional authority. 
(c) announcements about forthcoming events. This 
directive-approach has today been adopted by past 
civilian administrations and military juntas in their 
approach to governance and information dissemination, 
an approach often derided by those who prefer the 
western democratic approach. 
(ii) News is often in the form of 
(a) information about events which have taken place. 
(b) information about deaths, usually of very important 
citizens; in which case some of the seldom used modes of 
communicating such news is utilized. 
(c) news may be about impending events. 
(iii) Advertising is done through 
(a) the display of the products on a table, tree stump or flag 
pole. 
(b) use of peripatetic hawkers, vendors. 
(c) use of fragrance/odours/aroma to announce the 
products through the prospective consumer's use of his 
olfactory sense as is the case in food selling; (e.g. akara, 
foofoo (ntororo)). 
(d) singing and drumming of the name of the product to be 
sold. 
(iv) Public relations is carried out through 
(a) person-to-person or person-to-organisation basis where 
the individual tries to promote the image of his 
organisation through praise singing. 
(b) performances and announcements made to enhance the 
(c) Entertainment is perhaps the most pervasive in nature. 
This is done through music/dance/drama performances 
put up to be received free or payed for. in public or private 
settings. 
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(vi) education is carried out most often 
(a) informally but also formally through cultural groups. 
(b) through membership of certain societies. 
(c) learning takes place through membership of other sociocultural 
groups. 
PROBLEMS WITHIN THE TRADITIONAL SYSTEM 
At the present time numerous problems afflict the traditional 
media system, thereby retarding its growth and development and 
its consequent adoption as a universal scheme. 
Chief among these problems is the lack of a standard technical 
vocabularly in the description, analysis and conceptualization of 
the media/channels and processes of the traditional 
communication system. 
Related to the above is the absence of an appropriate language 
which can be universally applied in this description. Since most 
African countries have one foreign language or another as a 
medium of general expression along with hundreds of other 
(indigenous) languages, it is difficult to categorise the system 
using acceptable linguistic codes. Three options are open to the 
researcher/scholar namely: (i) retaining and using indigenous 
names along with descriptive labels in one of the international 
languages especially the one spoken in the researcher's country, 
(ii) using only descriptive labels in the former colonial language 
spoken in the country of the researcher, and (iii) inventing or 
coining alternative words, perhaps based on known models of 
related media/channels and then validating these coinages at 
international conferences and through promulgation. 
Another problem which afflicts the traditional system is the 
diversity in the traditional political system, and the conflict 
between it and the adopted system which usually requires the use 
of western media structures, policies and facilities. Political 
instability which results from the lack of a long tradition of 
legitimization of the new political processes has also been the bane 
of traditional communication. The central authority usually 
undermines the traditional system thereby bringing about a babel 
of voices. In Iran, for example, even though the reign of the former 
shah had a legitimate basis, the House of Palavi had certain antitraditional 
Islamic practices which eventually led to the people's 
revolt and the subsequent overthrow of the Shah. With the people 
in control, and with over 5,000 mosques in Teheran alone, the 
ayatollahs (high islamic clergymen) used these channels for 
religious, social and political communication. The ayatollahs are 
98
legitimised through the Islamic process (Islam being a state 
religion) ti. spite of the existence of Bahai and Christian faithfuls, 
and thus the people have been able to exercise control over the 
activities of the army which is a secular institution. Yet in the 
political context messages can be deliberately distorted to reflect 
the interests of the gatekeepers as so often happens with western 
media practice (Mowlana, 1983). 
The social-economic level of the society dictates the nature of 
communication that obtains in that society. African societies are 
at various levels of socio-economic development. The media/channels 
used in each society depend on what the citizens can create 
and have chosen as the standard for their own society. The level of 
socio-economic activity in a society, no doubt, influences the 
communication activity of the society but this does not support the 
'limited reach and effectiveness' thesis which is often bandied to 
discredit these potent sources and channels of communication in 
rural societies. 
Scientific and technological problems also affect traditional 
communication. The present level of development of media and 
channels of communication in society is limited because some of 
the technical hardware are not easily preserved even though they 
can be replicated. Here is one area where traditional scientists and 
technologists have not shown enough creativity and inventiveness 
to create a dynamic culture. In some cases no two disparate 
societies are known to use exactly the same hardware for the 
dissemination of information on related issues. Replicability of 
message is slower since the system has not been fully developed. 
As for now the audience is not as heterogenous, amorphous and 
widely dispersed as the audience of western media when viewed 
from western social perspectives. But there is the potential that it 
can be made so if certain structures and hardware within the 
system are altered and made more dynamic. 
FUNCTIONS OF TRADITIONAL COMMUNICATION 
The traditional communication system is a complex one whose 
functions transcend the ordinary oracular postulations of western 
theorists. Since the system functions as part of the larger sociopolitical 
organisation, reporting on and criticising organs within 
the system, issuing directives from the legitimate, or in some cases 
titular, head, and providing education in the areas of the norms 
and mores of the society, stimulating the emotions and generally 
providing the light to innovations and helping their diffusion, its 
functions are more diverse and far-reaching than is often 
99
admitted. The real problem lies in the Ability of scholars to detach 
themselves from western theories, anKn turn detach traditional 
media system in a certain sense from the general current of 
activities within the society and see it as a unique system which 
needs a greater study and understanding. 
Nevertheless some key functions and characteristics of the 
system are easily discernible. First, it mobilizes the people at the 
grassroots level towards community development and national 
consciousness. No serious mass-oriented programme over 
succeeds without the active involvement of the practitioners 
within the traditional system. Much of the failure that attends 
government mass-oriented programmes are traceable to the fact 
that policy makers at the national level fail to utilize this powerful 
and credible system. 
Secondly, it is a source of cultural, political, health and other 
educational and enlightenment programmes for the masses 
leading them towards self-actualization and national development. 
As has been pointed out above no real success visits such 
programmes without the system being involved. Policy makers 
make some vague pronouncements on this score but they never 
really see to the execution of their decision. 
Thirdly, it is a source of entertainment through arts and cultural 
festivals, musicals and dramatic performances by choral and 
masquerade groups and other music and drama-oriented groups. 
For example, the Ekpo masquerade group which provides 
entertainment musically and in the area of dance drama also 
thrills even in its re-enactment of spiritual ceremonies. The 
shrines and oracles are places where the educational function is 
also performed along with entertainment. 
Fourthly, it is used for intra-cultural, intercultural and other 
communication purposes leading to group and national unity. The 
yam festivals in various parts of southern Nigeria, the Oshun 
Festival in Oshogbo and the Argungu Fishing Festival in Sokoto 
are all examples of large traditional communication set-ups which 
bring about intercultural and even mass communication. 
Fifthly, it gives expression to cultural and other activities of the 
different parts of a nation. Through festivals, for example, wide 
aspects of a cultural system are exposed to other cultures and 
greater understanding and appreciation of differences takes place. 
Through this, cross-cultural fertilization takes place and the 
society and mankind in general becomes better off. 
From the above evidence, we caa say that the traditional system 
is not competitive in the scene that individuals or organisations do 
not scramble for custom through whatever means, ethical or 
unethical. This is not to say that the different performing groups 
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do not have their tiffs but these are often on matters more 
fundamental than the search for profit. The traditional newsman 
appointed by society operates on a part-time basis as he has other 
professional trades by which he earns a living. He could be a farmer, 
or a fisherman or a carpenter. But he is a trained professional who 
has been schooled in the principles and practices of the system. A 
current newsman naturally hands over to his son at the age when 
he can no longer make the rounds or when the role is withdrawn for 
whatever breach of social norms that may lead to such an action. 
When the traditional communicator advertises, it is not done to 
make profit. Traditional advertising is service-oriented not geared 
towards profit making. 
Conclusion 
A lot of work and attention need to be given to the study of 
traditional communication systems. Not much is gained by the 
system if the pronouncements of government officials are not 
attended by concrete action. For example, it is fashionable for 
government information chiefs to make pronouncements in rural 
communities about the need to utilize the 'town crier', who usually 
makes suggestions that he knows rural communities, on their 
own, cannot carry out. When the actual funding is called for, it is 
western mass media hardware that funds are usually provided for 
in the budgets. If governments are serious about making the 
traditional system more effective, and for it to serve the interests of 
the central government, then money must be provided for the 
improvement of traditional media. 
In order that the traditional newsman may not be confused with 
our ubiquitous drug peddlers who use the mounted loudspeaker, 
some special attention must be given to the improvement of his 
mobility and his hardware. 
This is the only credible source of information for the rural areas, 
and no attempt should be made to vitiate the quality of the service 
rendered by the traditional newsman in the name of innovations. 
Therefore, all efforts at modernization should be made with the 
custodians of the culture of the society fully involved in all the 
processes that may lead to some changes. Thus improvements may 
be made but the essence of the system that constitutes such a 
potent force in rural communities should not be destroyed in the 
process as such efforts in the past have destroyed many valuable 
aspects of our culture. 
101
Al 
WOODEN DRUM 
(OBODOM) 
A3 
WOODBLOCK (NTAKROK) 
A5 
RATTLE (NSAK) 
RITUAL RATTLE (EKPUT) 
A2 
SKIN DRUM IIBIT) 
A4 
BELL (NKANIKA) 
GONG (NKWONG) 
A 7 
102
Bl 
GOURD HORN (UTA) Bl 
B2 
BAMBO RIND (NSADANG) 
B3 
YELLOW PALM FROND (EYEI) 
B4 
IVORY HORN (NUK ENIN) 
103
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104